Moose River Route in Mt Robson Park, Northern BC

11 Jun 2023

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Photo	Trail Name	Hike Date	Trail Status	Comment	Submitted By
	Moose River Route in Mt Robson Park, Northern BC	2026-Jul-30	Variable	Trail was cleared recently by the Horsemen association up to 7 km, then conditions were a bit overgrown with some deadfall, especially near the first horse camp. After crossing Resplendant creek at the horse camp the going was muddy but decent until we reached the top of the trail near Colonel Camp, the last 3 km of the Moose trail are horrendous.	Mark Vejvoda

Description:

This trail is about a 3.5-hour drive east from Prince George, BC, into the Mt Robson Park area. In this adventure, I hiked the Moose River Trail with my hiking buddy, Gerald (see his channel here: Trekking with Taz). This is more of a ‘route’ than a trail as it becomes difficult to follow from time to time, disappearing into the river or the thick overgrown brush. There can be a lot of deadfall (especially in the burned-out areas from past wildfires) as well, since the route is less frequently traveled and has a lot of wildlife, including grizzlies. Water sources are abundant on this hike. There is no cell signal in the area, and given its remote location, it is highly recommended to carry an emergency communication device such as an InReach mini 2, etc. Water crossings can be dangerous in this area as glaciated waterways raise water levels as the day progresses in the heat of the sun, make sure you are experienced in backcountry techniques if you choose to go deep into this vast wilderness.

Directions to the trailhead: here

We have made several trips into this beautiful area, which are documented below, but we should stress the fact that this area should be considered by only experienced backcountry hikers, as it poses many real-world dangers, including deep/fast-flowing water crossings, grizzlies, thick brush, route finding, etc.

We have had communication with others who have used the information on this page and explored further into the glaciers and alpine of the Reef Glacier and Snowbird Pass, which shows there is great potential for world-class adventures in this area.

July/August 2026 multi-day backpacking trip:

Day 1:

We parked one truck at the Berg Lake Trailhead and took a second truck to the Moose River Trailhead (a 35 km drive) and started our hiked from the Moose River trailhead hiking into the first horse camp located at Resplendant Creek (16 km).

GPS track: here

Day 2:

We hiked 20 km from the Resplendant creek to a make shift camping spot in the Moose River Valley heading towards Moose Pass. The last 3 km of the Moose River Route is not good and is overgrown and non existant in many places, It is recommend to cross the Moose River and take the Great Divide Trail (GDT) near the Colonel Creek Camp site. There is a good camping site another 3.5 km past where we stopped on this day (Steppe Creek camp) that we should have continued to for a better experience.

GPS track: here

Day 3:

We hiked 17.5 km from our make shift camp spot to Calumet Creek camp in Jasper, Alberta making our way through the beautiful area of Moose Pass and crossing into Jasper Park, we had to hunker down in our tents for the rest of the day and the following day due to rain.

GPS track: here

Day 5:

We hiked 11 km from Calumet creek camp site to an unnamed peak near Calumet Peak with excellent views of the area. Once we returned to our camp site at Calumet creek we continued on our journey to Adolphus Camp for 9 km where a few fire rings are available to make camp fires.

GPS track from Calumet to Adolphus: here

Day 6:

We hiked 25.5 km from Adolphus camp into the Mt Robson Provinical Park trail system and up to Snowbird Pass looking at Coleman Glacier and Reef Glacier and returned to Adolphus camp.

GPS track: here

Day 7:

We hiked 26 km from Adolphus camp in Jasper to the Mt Robson Trailhead in BC to complete our 7 day trip.

GPS track: here

July 2023 multi-day backpacking trip:

Day 1:

We hiked 19 km down the trail (one way), starting at 10:00 am. This is more of a ‘route’ than a trail, as it becomes difficult to follow from time to time, disappearing into the river or the thick overgrown brush. On the first day of our multi-day trip, we hiked 11 km to the falls, ate some lunch, and continued to the first horse camp at about 15.5 km. At this point, we decided to continue across the Resplendent as we had a lot of time before dark. It should be noted that this horse camp is a good location to camp, especially if the Resplendent Creek is too high to cross at the time of day that you arrive, the Glaciers melt less in the early morning. We set up camp where the Moose River Route continues northeast toward the Great Divide Trail on the flood plains beside the trail markers on a tree.

GaiGPS Track for day 1: here

Difficulty: Moderate

Distance: 18.9 km

Ascent: 389 meters

Max elevation: 1382 meters

Moving Time: 6 hours 41 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours 22 minutes

Day 2:

This video shows day 2 of a 5-day hike into the Moose River area from the flood plain where we camped the first day, up the Moose River Route to a very close connection point to the GDT north. We backtracked to the Resplendent River camp area on the first flood plains and proceeded north into the Resplendent Valley, where we set up camp on the very edge of the upper flood plains. The section from the day 1 camp to the GDT connection was about 8 km (16 return), and the hike north into the Resplendent Valley was about 4.5 km.

Distance: 15.7 km

Ascent: 278 meters

Max elevation: 1474 meters

Moving Time: 5 hours 38 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours 52 minutes

Heading North toward our day 2 campsite from Resplendant Creek:

Distance: 4.49 km

Ascent: 48 meters

Max elevation: 1405 meters

Moving Time: 1 hour 24 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 52 minutes

Day 3:

This adventure started with our recon (see the video back in June 2023) of the Moose River Route. Very little is documented online, but the area from a map viewpoint looks spectacular. This video shows day 3 of a 5-day hike into the Moose River area from the lower Resplendent Valley flood plain, where we camped the second day. The hike to the Reef Glacier Falls was mostly a bushwacking expedition, but very rewarding. The unique terrain and scenery were outstanding, and the area offers many options to explore.

Distance: 13.8 km

Ascent: 357 meters

Max elevation: 1682 meters

Moving Time: 6 hours 27 minutes

Total Time: 9 hours 0 minutes

Day 4-5:

Resplendant Campsite to Moose River horse camp (Hi-Huna)

Distance: 8.17 km

Ascent: 10 meters

Max elevation: 1409 meters

Moving Time: 2 hours 32 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 58 minutes

Hi-Huna horse camp to day 4 campsite on the riverside:

Distance: 9.65 km

Ascent: 25 meters

Max elevation: 1419 meters

Moving Time: 3 hours 27 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 39 minutes

Day 4 campsite to Moose River Trailhead

Distance: 5.61 km

Ascent: 92 meters

Max elevation: 1306 meters

Moving Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 0 minutes

June 2023 recon day hike (origin story of our experience in the Moose River area):

We hiked over 10 km down the trail (one way), starting at 2:20 pm. This is more of a ‘route’ than a trail, as it becomes difficult to follow from time to time, disappearing into the river or the thick overgrown brush. There can be a lot of deadfall (especially in the burned-out areas from past wildfires) as well, since the route is less frequently traveled and has a lot of wildlife, including grizzlies. Water sources are abundant on this hike. There is no cell signal in the area, and given its remote location, it is highly recommended to carry an emergency communication device such as an InReach mini2, etc.

Difficulty: Moderate

Distance: 22.4 km

Ascent: 425 meters

Max elevation: 1326 meters

Moving Time: 6 hours 25 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours 57 minutes